Re: [libreoffice-users] Master Documents, Office Suites, and the Underwood

On 3/25/2014 12:50 PM, Tanstaafl wrote:
> On 3/25/2014 8:51 AM, Virgil Arrington <cuyfalls@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > I suppose people can still build spreadsheets by inserting numbers into
> > cells and then pulling out their pocket calculators to add up the column
> > of numbers (I've seen my students do that).
>
> This is so not even remotely reasonable analogy it really irks me.
>
> Please don't be a smart ass.

Oh, the hazards of e-communication. You neither heard the tone of my 
voice nor saw the twinkle of my eye. It was an (obviously unsuccessful) 
attempt to illustrate by obvious exaggeration. Here in Ohio, it would 
have gotten a chuckle. I did not mean to irk, so please forgive me.

I imagine that there are, indeed, legitimate reasons why someone would 
want to control a master document through the sub-documents, but I would 
strongly suggest that before going that route, the user completely 
learns how to use the master documents the way they were designed. In 
the process, they just might find what they're looking for. I can't tell 
you the number of times I have found myself using LyX or Atlantis, or 
some other program because I believed "it couldn't be done with LO." 
Then after a little self-education, I find that it, indeed, *can* be 
done with LO, and I just wasted a lot of time using another program.

My larger point, to which I still hold, is that far too many people do 
not take full advantage of their computers. Now, you might say this is a 
matter of personal preference, and so it is. But, in my profession 
(law), if a client is paying his lawyer $200.00/hour to write a legal 
brief, he'll save money if the lawyer learns how to fully use templates 
and styles. I've watched lawyers spend hours (at $200 a crack) typing a 
table of authorities, when MS Word or WordPerfect can automatically 
generate one in minutes. So, in *some* instances, our personal 
preferences *can* affect other people.

And, my second point was that people continue to use less effective 
methods because office suites continue to make them available in their 
attempts to be "one size fits all" programs. While I agree it is 
necessary for them to remain marketable, I think it is unfortunate.

Virgil

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